Labour (economics)
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In classical economics and all micro-economics labour (or labor) is a measure of the work done by human beings and is one of three factors of production, the others being land and capital. There are macro-economic system theories which have created a concept called human capital (referring to the skills that workers possess, not necessarily their actual work), although there are also counterposing macro-economic system theories that think human capital is a contradiction in terms.
Henry C.K. Liu observes that the massive outsourcing of labor-intensive jobs in today's globalized economy, from advanced economies with high-wages to developing economies of large low-wage population pushes down wages and benefits in all economies Liu sees the development as a fundamental imbalance between the bargaining power of capital and that of labor because what passes for free trade is in reality a one way flow that allows capital to move to where its can get the highest return, while restricting labor from going to where they are needed most. Falling wages reduces aggregate consumer demand and lead to economic contraction in a global post-industrial economy saddled with structural overcapacity. Liu proposes an Organization of Labor-Intensive Exporting Countries (OLEC) on the model of the petroleum exporting countries' OPEC, to re-establish the balance the market power between labor and capital for the good of the entire global economy.
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Compensation and measurement
Wage is a basic compensation for labour, and the compensation for labour per period of time is referred to as the wage rate. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
Other frequently used terms include:
- wage = payment per unit of time (typically an hour)
- earnings = payment accrued over a period (typically a week, a month, or a year)
- total compensation = earnings + other benefits for labour
- income = total compensation + unearned income
- economic rent = total compensation - opportunity cost
Economists measure labour in terms of hours worked, total wages, or efficiency.
Marxian economics
In Marxian economics, the aim of labour economics is to provide insight and guidance for the optimal allocation of cooperative human labour. However, this optimality is not simply viewed as a "technical variable" as in micro-economics, because workers are not simply a "factor of production", but human beings who organize themselves and each other. Forms of labour cooperation can be oppressive, irrational and exploitative, or they can be beneficial, rational, or effective. That is to say, labour economics has a political dimension insofar as different workers and employers have different interests. There is a workers' point of view and an employer's point of view.
Marxian economists argue that the reason why labour economics receives little attention is because it has become viewed as a management issue. But this may hide that a particular form of organizing labour has little to do with economic efficiency, and more with getting a high income from an activity. Marxian economists believe that ultimately the most desirable form of labour organization in the workplace is where workers manage themselves collectively, and elect managers where necessary; too much management is inefficient, it just means that people get high incomes for doing very little, capitalizing on specialized knowledge or qualifications.
Types of labour
See also
- Economic rent
- Compensation of employees
- Employment
- Human resources
- Labour economics
- Offshore outsourcing
- Profession
- Retirementde:Arbeit (Ökonomie)
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